Homelessness Week 2018

Homelessness Week is an annual week coordinated by Homelessness Australia to raise awareness of people experiencing homelessness, the issues they face and the action needed to achieve enduring solutions.

In 2018, Homelessness Week is the 6-12 August with a theme “Ending homelessness together’’.

In keeping with this theme, in 2018 Homelessness Australia is encouraging the community to get active as citizens to call on political leaders to make the changes needed to end homelessness.

You can organise community events and invite an MP or Senator to join you, or go and visit your MP in homelessness week to tell them about the issue of homelessness in your community.

We encourage you to connect people participating in Homelessness Week to the Everybody’s Home campaign calling for national action to end homelessness.

Ask people to join the Everybody’s Home campaign and be part of movement for change.

We will provide information to support your MP engagement activities and lobbying in Homelessness Week, including discussion points for the meeting, and material to leave behind that outlines what we want MPs to do.

Homelessness Week history

Homelessness Week came about from various churches and missions running winter vigils to remember people who had died on the streets. These vigils were normally held in August as it is the coldest time of the year and when most people were likely to be overcome by the elements. Over the years, more churches became involved and in 2007 Homelessness Australia (then the Australian Federations of Housing Organisations AFHO) began coordinating it as a national awareness week.

Event and Campaigning support

The Homelessness Week 2018 Campaigning and Event Toolkit contains all the information you need to help you campaign for Homelessness Week by organising an event or promotion via social and digital media, as well as traditional media channels.

Don’t forget to register your event by emailing andrew@chp.org.au. Include the name of your event, the date, time, and location of your event, and a one paragraph description. We will then promote your event utilising the calendar below.

Template letter to MPs and media

Letter templates that you can utilise to invite media and Government representatives to your event will be added here shortly.